Drive to check safety in high-rises

The district administration will launch a drive in high-rise buildings in residential, commercial and industrial pockets to check if safety standards in the operation of elevators are being adhered to.

The administration has admitted elevator-related accidents are on the rise in Noida. "A number of housing societies, builders and care-takers seem to be negligent. Action will be taken against firms responsible for maintenance of lifts, if they are found not following safety standards in toto," a senior official said.

On Friday, a 32-year-old company executive was crushed to death in a lift accident.

The youth was smashed by a descending lift of a residential building when he was peeping into the lift door.

The Noida authority or the district administration has no lift safety regulations of their own. Several organisations have requested the district magistrate to urge the Noida authority for the formulation of guidelines.

Senior town planner of the Noida authority Rajpal Kaushik said: "Lift safety is an important issue. We will sit with district administration officials to thrash out a solution to this complex issue."

The administration has sent a notice to the housing society where the accident took place on Friday.

But the society has blamed the youth for the mishap saying "he should not have run the risk of peeping inside the lift door".

But residents have a different take.

"The see-through glass window of the lift door was broken. Had it been in place, the accident would not have happened," residents said, blaming lack of maintenance for the tragedy.

In the recent past, several such accidents took place due lack of maintenance of elevators. A person was trapped in a lift in the Senior Citizen Society in Greater Noida for several hours.

"When we buy houses, builders promise a lot of facilities. But once the money is paid, several responsibilities such as maintenance of elevators are passed on to caretakers and other bodies. What's the point of paying hefty maintenance charges (to builders)?" asked a resident.